Upgrade your plain pillar candles by rolling them in a variety of simple ingredients. Your candles will transform into high-end decorative candles with little cost and minimal effort. You can use a purchased pillar or your own hand made candles. Either way, this rolled technique will impress everyone, including yourself.

Using your sponge paintbrush, evenly coat the outside of your candle(s) with Mod Podge, avoiding the tops and bottoms of the candle. Do this rather quickly so nothing starts to dry before you start rolling. Roll the candle on its side in the tray of your dry ingredient until lightly, yet evenly, coated. Avoid touching the sides until dry by lifting and rolling the candles from the tops and bottoms. Unless you like beautiful but dented candles, you should have a clean plate or tray ready to hold under your rolled candle so you can move it to where you want it while drying. Lifting the candle by its wick works, but make sure you have this plate to catch it in case the wick gets slippery before you get it to where you want it! Yes, I learned this tip the hard way.

Let dry.

Using a soft brush or cloth, you may want to gently brush any loose or excess dry ingredient off. If you would like, you could run a heat gun or blow dryer over the coating to secure it more. Be careful not to melt it too much.
Other ingredients you may want to try rolling your candles in could be; Epsom salts, cornmeal, seeds, split peas, lentils, beads, or whatever you can think of that would be safe.

Decorative Display Ideas:

Create a beach or seaside theme, by rolling your candle(s) in sand. After the glue has dried, place your sand candles on a tray or plate and surround the base with small shells, pebbles, or more sand with just a few shells set on top.

Maybe try a vanilla or chocolate scented candle rolled in ground coffee for a truly upgraded candle. Surround the base with whole coffee beans or M&Ms.
Roll cranberry or pine scented candles in crushed crystals for an icy or frosted look. This makes simple, gorgeous candles for the holidays, or any day for that matter.

Depending on your theme or the season, other things to use for your base around the bottom of your pillars could be, dried corn, small evergreen sprigs, pinecones, acorns, candies (red hots, peppermints, sweet tarts, etc.), dried beans, heck; dried pasta would probably be interesting too. Some items are more flammable than others so use caution with your embellishments and keep them away from the flame. Use your imagination when displaying your candles and even a plain candle will look special and sophisticated.

I love the look of these candles. This simple rolling technique is sure to impress and can give you a quick supply of unique candles.